A Debt Signed in a Child's Name
Chapter 09 - A Debt Signed in a Child's Name
Elena's attorney explained the financial scheme over three careful meetings. Rocco had allegedly used forged approvals and layered companies to secure risky loans with assets linked to Gabriel's future inheritance. Luca's signature appeared on several documents he denied authorizing. The transactions would require extensive examination to establish responsibility and financial exposure.
For Luca, the most devastating detail was personal: his brother had treated an infant's future as a resource he could gamble away.
He remembered Rocco standing beside their father's coffin years earlier, promising that the brothers would never turn against each other. He remembered helping Rocco recover from gambling debts when they were younger. He had mistaken that history for loyalty.
Now Luca instructed his lawyers to preserve records and cooperate with investigators. He suspended Rocco's access to the company and the family trust under applicable corporate procedures.
Rocco responded with rage.
"You're letting a waitress tear this family apart!" he shouted during a recorded call.
"You did that," Luca answered.
"Elena made this up. She ran away with a man. Everybody knows it."
Luca looked at the evidence spread across his desk. "Then you'll have no trouble explaining the documents."
Rocco hung up.
That evening, a car followed Sophie from work. She went straight to a well-lit police station rather than home, as her attorney had advised. Officers documented the incident. The car disappeared before its driver could be identified.
When Luca heard, he wanted to dispatch armed men. Sophie stopped him over the phone.
"I need protection, not another war."
He was silent.
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"You promised Elena a different life for Gabriel," Sophie continued. "That means doing this differently."
At last Luca said, "You're right."
